Before her acting career, MacDowell was exclusive model for L'Oreal ("Because she's worth it"). She continued to represent the company in advertisement even when she was a famous actress already. She took on her first name Andie (from her middle name Anderson) because she thought it was more suitable for a model.

She was married to Paul Qualley (then "the most romantic man a woman could ask for") and has got three children: Justin, Rainey and SarahMargaret. She lives in a big ranch in Montana, claiming "I'm really a country girl at heart. I had a horse when I was ten, and I was always doing crazy things like bringing home chickens." Maintaining a careful balance between career and family for years, she took many periodic breaks from professional activity to devote more time to be a mother and a wife. Her new hubbie is called Rhett DeCamp Hartzog.

Her accent and the fact that her acting is sometimes not too convincing caused some people to practise so-called Andie-Bashing. Carolina Rose, maybe here biggest online fan, responds on http://www.suite455.com/paladin/AndieMainPage.html:

I'm sure it's often difficult for a fan to understand why everyone else doesn't share his enthusiasm, but I'm sometimes perturbed by some of the condemnations I've seen of Andie's acting abilities. Some are quite mean-spirited, and others have an obligatory feel about them, as if it were somehow expected or even fashionable to ridicule the acting ability of a former model.

The main complaint seems to be that she isn't obvious enough, that she's merely "reading her lines." Apparently some can't appreciate a performance unless it is presented in grand, sweeping emotional gestures. They can easily appreciate, for example, Robert DeNiro's performance in "Awakenings" or Dustin Hoffman's in "Rainman," but are unlikely to recognize the more subtle but equally excellent performances of their costars - Robin Williams and Tom Cruise. They see the world in only the simplest of shades, blind to all the wonderful tones and hues that make life (and art) so fascinating.

Or perhaps it's her looks. There's always the old, misguided stereotypical equation that a woman's talent or intelligence is inversely related to her beauty. And it follows - purely by default - that someone appealing enough to be a model isn't capable of anything else. In any case, I'm sure Andie's fans will continue to admire her regardless of whatever jeers a few contemptuous individuals cast her way. I know I will.